Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1887-12-08
How Frank Missed a Deer.


Did you ever hear Frank Levan tell
his experience with that deer up the
country when he was determined not
to get the ''buck fever'p Well, Frank
went up in the mountains with crowd
of old and new hunters. All prepare
tons having been made, the deer slay-
ers went out to look for fresh venison.
They succeeded in wounding deer
that afternoon and killing two more,
the old hunters doing the work. Dark
ness coming on, the hunters concluded
to wait until next morning to search
for the wounded deer. Accordingly
next morning they started on the track
of the deer aud followed it long way
until they struck small stream be-
tween two high hills. Here the cap
tain divided the party into squads of
two and three and gave them direc-
tons as to how they should proceed in
order to come up with the deer
As it happened Leyan was one of
the men placed on the left Of the stream
and was ordered to be extremely care
full to avoid all noise and excitement
and above all not TO get the "buck
fever" Frank proceeded to carry
out his instructions and walked along
the stream with the pace of snail aud
the tread of a fox. Having gone as far
as he considered it his duty to 60 and
seeing no signs of deer or other ami
NAL, he stopped beside a large fallen
tree to survey the landscape DER.
Stepping onto TIE log he was engaged
in careful scrunity of the surround
ing hills when he was impelled by some
inward feeling to turn his eyes behind
him. From that momeut he was trans
formed from an ordinary, discouraged
hunter into a hero, for he beheld not
thirty feet from him a live deer that
stood looking at him and tapping its
large ears as if it wished to discover
by sight and sound the nature OF the
object before it.
Never having had such an exper-
fence before, Levan began to think
that he was going to have some fun
and the honor of killing his first deer.
He was armed with rifle of about five
pounds pull, but he had meyer shot
one of those guns off. Deliberately
and quietly he drew the rifle to his
shoulder and took aim at the deer's
head, saying frequently to himself,
you're my meat" Having aimed
several times at the deer's head he
concluded that he would not run the
risk of missing and have the boys laugh
at him, SO he lowered the gun until the
sights were aimed for the heart of the
| deer, and he continued to point the gun
at the deer and say you're my meat
| for minute or more, being under the
impression that the animal was good
to stand III that position for a day or
two. At last, having made up his
mind to pull the trigger, Frank
steadied his nerves and mentally con-
graduated himself upon not getting
the buck fever.
Then, he says, he pulled that trigger
back at least three inches, and just as
he began to fear that the trigger was
made of elastic and would never stop
going backward the deer gave u bound
| like a football struck by a 200-pound
man and landed halfway up the
mountain. At the same time Leyan'S
| arms went up and the rifle was dis
charged in the air, the bullet passing
over the mountain into the next
township. When the other hunters
came to help cut the deer up Frank
told them that he didn't hit it, rs he
only had a snap shot and had no
chance of killing it, WNlidUSport
Daiiy San and Banner.